Artwork
Triptych with the Lamentation (centre panel), the donor with St Peter (inner left wing), the donor’s wife with St Paul (inner right wing) and the donors’ coats of arms (outer wings)
Triptych with the Lamentation (centre panel), the donor with St Peter (inner left wing), the donor’s wife with St Paul (inner right wing) and the donors’ coats of arms (outer wings) is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Jan Mostaert. It dates from 1517 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a work of religious art, the piece functions as a private devotional tool, merging the earthly status of the donors with the heavenly reality of the Passion.
This 1517 triptych by Jan Mostaert presents a cohesive religious narrative centered on the Lamentation of Christ in the main panel. The inner wings integrate the donor couple into the sacred scene, depicting the male patron alongside Saint Peter and his wife with Saint Paul. This arrangement symbolizes the donors' direct spiritual connection to the apostles and their plea for salvation through Christ's suffering.
The outer wings, featuring the family coats of arms, serve to permanently identify the patrons within the devotional object while framing the central mystery. As a work of religious art, the piece functions as a private devotional tool, merging the earthly status of the donors with the heavenly reality of the Passion.
Technique & Style
The triptych is executed in oil paint on panel, a standard Netherlandish support that allowed for the detailed surface treatment characteristic of early sixteenth-century devotional painting. The central Lamentation panel measures 72.5 cm in height by 100.5 cm in width, with the wings extending the composition to accommodate the donor portraits and heraldic devices on their outer faces.
Stylistically, the work reflects Jan Mostaert's religious idiom of 1517, organizing the program across hinged wings so that the donor figures with their patron saints, Peter and Paul, face inward toward the Passion scene, while the outer wings display the donors' coats of arms for public viewing when closed. The sources do not record specific information about condition, handling, or pigment preparation.
History & Provenance
The triptych depicting the Lamentation, flanked by donors with Saints Peter and Paul, was created by the artist Jan Mostaert. The work dates to 1517, a year established as its inception. Executed in oil paint on panel, the piece is a religious composition currently held within the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
While the specific original commissioner or the detailed chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition is not explicitly detailed in the available records, the work's attribution and dating remain consistent across documentation. The painting measures 72.5 cm in height and 100.5 cm in width.
The triptych is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with the work also associated with the Frans Hals Museum according to its collection record. Its location is given as the Rijksmuseum, where the central panel measures 72.5 by 100.5 cm. The painting, dated to 1517, is catalogued as a religious oil-on-panel work by Jan Mostaert. No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented beyond its institutional holdings.
Overview
Jan Mostaert’s 1517 oil triptych presents a Lamentation of Christ at its core, flanked by two smaller panels that feature the work’s patrons alongside Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The outer wings are occupied by the donors’ heraldic devices, completing a devotional ensemble now preserved in the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
Context
Mostaert, a Dutch painter active in the Northern Renaissance, is chiefly recognized for religious narratives and portraiture. This work reflects the period’s practice of integrating donor portraits within sacred scenes, linking personal piety with the larger Christian narrative of Christ’s passion.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Mostaert (c. 1475 – 1552/1553) was a Dutch Renaissance painter who is known mainly for his religious subjects and portraits. One of his most famous creations was the Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of…
